Collar.



M. R. RICE.

GOLLAR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1908.

Patented June 18, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPlV-I CO., WASH-INGTON, D. C.

www? 1 mix/,

MARIE R. RICE, or cHIcAeo, ILLINOIS, AssrsNoR ro GNTHER KRITRL, or New YORK, N. Y.

COLLAR.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MARIE R. RICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Collars, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to collars, and particularly to stiffening or supporting means therefor.

It has for its objects; the provision of improved supporting means wherein the stiff ening members are readily removable, in order to permit of the washing of the collar, and at the same time so constructed as to avoid all possibility of accidental displacement, andthe provision of support-ing means easily applied to Aany collar. and adapted to support the fabric both against stretching and wrinkling One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a plan view of a collar made in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a section on the line II-II of Fig. l, Fig. 3 lshows the supporting means detached from the collar, in front elevation, and a perspective view of the stiifening member removed from the casing. and Fig. 4t is a transverse section on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

Collars of lace or other iiimsy material will not, when in use, maintain their shape, becoming in la very short time, wrinkled or stretched, which condition spoils the appearance of the article to a great extent.` Attempts have been made heretofore to remedy this defect, in some cases by applying permanent stitfening strips of various materials, and in other cases, by the use of such strips secured removably to the collar by means of pockets sewed thereto and engaging the ends of the strips. Both of these arrangements are open to objection. The permanent strips are objectionable because of the difliculty experienced in washing the collar, and the detachable strips mounted in the pockets are objectionable because of the liability of the strips to become detached from the collar, due to the stretching of the flimsy material intermediate the pockets to such an extent that the ends of the strips slip out of the pockets. My invent-ion is Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. September 23, 1908.

Patented J une 18, 1912.

Serial No. 454,406.

designed to `overcome these difficulties and p rovide in one structure the advantages incident both to the permanent strip and to the pocket arrangement. To this end the .collar is provided with a plurality of casings of strong resistant fabric having one side partially opened,`in which casings are placed smooth strips of stiffening material, such as Celluloid or whalebone. As will be seen from the detail description Jfollowing, the strips may be readily removed when desired, and at the same time accidental displacement is impossible. The stiffening strips prevent wrinkling of the collar, and the casings prevent stretching thereof in the opposite direction.

Referring to the drawing, l is the collar, which is in the present instance of lace, 2, 2, 2, 2, are `casings preferably secured tothe inside of the collar and extending transversely thereof as indicated in Fig. l, and

3, 3, 3, 3, .are stiffening strips preferably of Celluloid or some analogous Vflexible material. As indicated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4f, the

casing 2 is provided with an edge portion 4 by means of which the casing is securely sewed to the collar. The casing is preferably made of strong relatively nonstretchable material, and is provided with an opening 5 at one side for the insertion of the stifening strip 3. In order to insert the strip 3 into the casing, such strip is bent intermediate its ends and the ends thrust into the casing at the end of the opening 5. Reversely the strips may be withdrawn from the casings by grasping them adjacent the opening 5 and bending` the casings and strips so that the strips lmay slide out through the opening. The stiffening strips 3 prevent any wrinkling of the collar, while the j casings 2 prevent the collar from stretching at the point at which they are applied.

It will be, seen that it is practically impossible to accidentally displace the strips 3 from their casings,` as the casings are un yielding longitudinally, and it is necessary to bend the parts to a. decided extent in order to permit of the removal of the strips through the opening 5. It will also be apparent that when desired the strips may be readily removed from the casing to permit of the washing of the collar, and that the casings themselves may be easily detached lfrom the collar and applied to another col- By the provision of pockets of unequal depth for the reception of the resilient member 3, the latter member may be held in place for a considerable proportion of its length, thus preventing buckling away from the collar and, yet, when it is desired to release these flexible strips, they may readily be removed at one end from the shorter pocket and slid out of the longer lower pocket. Thus, with a covering of the flexible strip for a given proportion of its length, with the above advantage, as well as a reduced tendency to chafe the skin, the formation of the pockets of unequal length facilitates the removal of the fiexible member, when such removal is desired. It, furthermore, is advantageous that, with the pockets of unequal length, the lower pocket be the longer, as there is a greater tendency for the lower end of the flexible member to slip out of position than its upper extremity. It may also be noted that by the positioning of the sti'ening strips in upwardly converging' relation with the collar in flat form, they are held in upright position when the collar is in use, as it is of smaller diameter at its upper than at its lower edge.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

l. As an article of manufacture, a collar having in flattened form a general upwardly curved conformation, and a plurality of spaced stiffening elements secured to said collar in upwardly converging position, each of said stifening elements comprising a strip of fabric provided at its end portions with a pair of pockets of unequal depth and a resilient member having its ends removably fitted in said pockets.

2. A collar support comprising a staymember in the form of a thin flat strip of resilient material, anda carrying or holdingmember therefor in the shape of a fabricstrip provided at its end portions with pockets removably confining the ends of said stay-member, the lower of said pockets have ing a depth less than half the length of said stay-member, and the Lipper of said pockets being shallower than the lower, and of only suflicient depth to cover and prevent the springing out of the upper end of said staymember in service.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

MARIE It. RICE. lVitnesses PAUL CARPENTER, H. M. HERTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of lPatents, Washington, D. C. 

